"Ling'er, go ahead!"

  A sixteen-year-old girl stepped forward the moment the command rang out. A steel sword was gripped firmly in her right hand as she faced a low-stage first-level demonic beast—a wolf half the size of an adult human, its gray fur streaked with crimson.

  A demonic beast capable of easily contending with humans even when facing a full stage disadvantage.

  Yet Qing Xuanling, who had only reached the second layer of Qi Refinement—not even a peak low-stage cultivator—stood fearlessly before this wolf, which could normally challenge mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators.

  The outcome of such a confrontation seemed painfully obvious to the other youths watching nearby.

  Nevertheless, Qing Xuanling did not hesitate—her sword slashed forward with decisive.

  Her blade cut through the wolf's fur, leaving behind a shallow wound that dripped blood. The wolf roared in fury, jaws gaping wide as it lunged to bite Qing Xuanling's shoulder.

  The bite was so powerful that her shoulder would have been instantly shattered had it landed. Fully aware of this, she immediately dropped to the ground and rolled. A few snickers rose from her companions, but she ignored them completely.

  Seizing the brief moment of confusion as the wolf lost its target, she thrust her sword upward—straight into the beast's neck. The wolf thrashed violently, but Qing Xuanling held fast, twisting her sword deeper.

  Blood splattered across Qing Xuanling's face—and the laughter around her ceased.

  She disengaged from the wolf and turned, looking the instructor and the ten other companions who had come with her. This was a field exercise meant to gain combat experience—one of the benefits created by the Young Master for those under twenty years of age.

  She and ten others had ventured to the outskirts of the Scarlet Forest to battle demonic beasts.

  'Hmph, still… the looks on their faces are truly unpleasant.'

  Qing Xuanling observed the distasteful expressions her companions directed at her. Field exercises had limited slots that everyone coveted—most could only rely on luck to secure a place.

  Except for a rare few like Qing Xuanling, who received the Young Master's direct support. Yes—she inexplicably continued to enjoy his backing, which bred deep envy among her peers.

  But Qing Xuanling cared little about making enemies. She kept participating in every field exercise available—which, naturally, made her a public target.

  And yet, she never once considered abandoning these exercises despite all that.

  "Ling'er, stop wasting time and bring your spoils over for storage. Don't hold up your companions," Instructor Huan called out with exasperation.

  Qing Xuanling nodded and quickly dragged the wolf's corpse away. This was precisely why she never considered quitting field exercises—they were her greatest source of income and her most effective training method.

  It was unheard of for a second-layer Qi Refinement cultivator to defeat a demonic beast like the vampire wolf—a creature renowned for its unmatched power within its stage.

  She glanced at her fellow clan members who had accompanied her on this field exercise. They instinctively stepped back as she approached. Most were at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement; one had even reached the sixth layer.

  Yet she doubted any of them could have defeated the vampire wolf she'd just slain.

  They knew it too. That's why no one who went to field exercises with her ever tried to intimidate her again. She offered a faint smile to the retreating youths and moved to stand beside Instructor Huan.

  "Instructor Huan, please," she said with a slight bow.

  Instructor Huan glanced at her, waved his hand dismissively—and the vampire wolf's corpse vanished.

  "Let's continue. Four more people still need to complete their combat today." Instructor Huan led the group along the outer perimeter of the Scarlet Forest.

  After that, Qing Xuanling had no further opportunity to fight. With nothing to do, her thoughts drifted back over the past two years of her life.

  Following the Awakening Ceremony—where she'd been revealed to possess a complete spiritual root—she had locked herself in her room for three straight days. The blow had been too severe.

  Fortunately, she had always been a girl of unyielding will. After three days of depression, she recovered and began bitter, relentless cultivation.

  She resolved that if her talent was a hundred times inferior to others', she would work a hundred times harder. And if that wasn't enough—she would work a thousand times harder.

  While others cultivated for merely eight hours a day, she spent sixteen—sleeping only four hours and devoting the remainder to sword practice.

  Her relationship with same-age clan members had remained neutral at that time. It was only after field exercises began that envious youths started playing dirty tricks on her and whispering behind her back.

  Of course, anyone foolish enough to bother her directly either received a beating—or she would get one herself if the other party was much stronger. Either way, the other party never walked away unscathed.

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  It was precisely through this that her combat experience grew alongside the field exercises, where she constantly challenged stronger beasts to improve. Countless times over the past two years, her life had hung by a thread.

  Ironically, this earned her the affection of several peak late-stage Qi Refinement instructors—like Instructor Huan.

  Another important matter was that her bond with Qing Wentian remained as strong as ever. Though the idiot was boastful, he was fiercely loyal.

  Qing Xuanling was already looking forward to when he learned artifact forging—she intended to have him craft her a fine sword.

  But the most significant event of these past two years had occurred just a few months ago. Qing Xuanling entered her divine sea while one of her companions battled a demonic beast.

  She ventured into her divine sea, something a mere Qi refinement cultivator shouldn't be able to do, and the first thing she saw were imposing golden characters:

  [Divine Talent: Nine Heavens Incarnations

  The Dao gave birth to One; One gave birth to Two; Two gave birth to Three; Three gave birth to Dao.

  Materials required to create the first incarnation:

  - Mid-grade first-level spiritual clay

  - Five mid-grade first-level spiritual herbs of each of the five elements

  - Three mid-grade first-level minerals]

  Qing Xuanling stared at the golden characters with conflicting emotions. "Divine talent"—it wasn't an unfamiliar term.

  The cultivation world held many mysteries, among them divine talents that certain individuals could awaken. They were neither special physiques nor celestial roots, but rather unique aptitudes an soul gained during reincarnation or creation.

  In fact, this was one of the things screened for during the Awakening Ceremony. The awakening formation—refined over millennia—could now detect even abstract traits like divine talents in advance.

  Yet for some reason, Qing Xuanling's divine talent had gone unnoticed.

  She had been ecstatic upon discovering she possessed one—nearly rushing to Qing Wentian's room to boast—but quickly restrained herself. She decided this would be her trump card for the rest of her immortal journey.

  Thus, she spent all her savings gathering the materials needed to create an incarnation. And today—with the earnings from selling the vampire wolf's corpse—she would finally purchase the last required material!

  Qing Xuanling was certain her ascent was about to begin!

  'Just wait—all of you who looked down on me. I'll make sure to slap each and every one of you in the face!'

  "Ling'er, wake up for heaven's sake!" Instructor Huan suddenly flicked her on the back of the head. "We're leaving already!"

  "Oh—right, I'm coming…" Qing Xuanling quickly followed Instructor Huan as laughter trailed behind her. Her ears turned red…

  Qing Xuanling soon followed Instructor Huan into Ziyun City. After a half-hour walk, they finally reached the city walls. Instructor Huan showed a copper plaque to the guards at the gate and passed through with his junior clan members.

  Once inside, they each went their separate ways. Clan cultivators earned the right to move freely through the city—unlike mortals, who were confined to clan territory.

  As for their field exercise earnings: since it was their first time participating and they lacked combat experience, none of the others had managed to defeat the demonic beast Instructor Huan had arranged for them. In the end, they'd needed rescuing and returned empty-handed.

  Thus, only Qing Xuanling accompanied Instructor Huan to sell the vampire wolf's corpse.

  "A low-stage vampire wolf corpse sells for five spirit stones," Instructor Huan remarked casually as they passed stalls along the city's commercial street. "I know you've been spending all your savings these past months buying various things. Do you have everything you need now?"

  Qing Xuanling started at his words but quickly smiled and nodded. "I'll manage with that five spirit stones. After this… I might enter seclusion…"

  Instructor Huan stared at her for a moment—then tossed her a small cloth pouch.

  "Here—ten spirit stones. I'm buying the vampire wolf corpse. I happened to need it urgently…"

  Qing Xuanling's eyes widened in shock as she felt the pouch's weight. Indeed—ten spirit stones.

  "Instructor Huan, I can't accept this…!" Her throat went dry.

  The past two years had been harsh. She had sacrificed hundreds of hours of sleep and eaten the most frugal meals possible—all to save spirit stones for pills and materials for her first incarnation.

  She had never once had surplus spirit stones. But now—she held five more than she needed.

  "Don't you dare refuse, brat. Let your elders take care of you. The clan has disappointed you enough already." Instructor Huan sighed. "We've noticed the hardships you've endured—but we could do little about it. Besides you've overcome them on your own… but that doesn't make it right."

  He ruffled her brown hair. "Think of this as compensation for not properly disciplining your clanmates."

  Qing Xuanling opened and closed her mouth—then finally gripped the spirit stone pouch tightly and bowed deeply to Instructor Huan.

  "I swear—I will repay this debt ten times over! No—hundredfold!" she declared firmly before turning and striding away. Instructor Huan watched her walk away for a few seconds before heading toward Qing Clan territory.

  It didn't take Qing Xuanling long to find a mid-grade first-level spiritual mineral for twelve spirit stones—three cheaper than she'd anticipated.

  Elated, she rushed back toward clan territory.

  On the way to her room, she encountered several mid-stage Qi Refinement clan members who clearly intended to cause trouble—but she ignored them completely, slipping past with agile movements until she reached her chamber.

  Coincidentally, Qing Wentian was just exiting his room—right next to hers.

  "Hey, you're looking radiant. Did you upon a heavenly opportunity and finally decide to stop lagging behind~?" Qing Wentian teased playfully.

  He had never stopped hoping that Qing Xuanling—his fellow genius—would reclaim the ground lost over the past two years.

  Qing Xuanling smiled mysteriously. "Hehe… Just wait, Wentian. This older sister will soon surpass you!"

  Leaving those words behind, she shut herself inside her room.

  Qing Wentian stared at her closed door, stunned—then finally grinned, brimming with excitement. "Haha—I see, I see! At last, the Qing Clan's twin pearls are about to shine brilliantly once more—side by side!"

  Inside Qing Xuanling's room.

  She sat cross-legged in meditation and laid out the materials required for her first incarnation.

  'Spiritual clay made from earth fertilized with first-level worms… a Mistwater Orchid, a Fire Lotus, an Earthroot Sunflower, a Verdant Wood Vine, a Golden Dandelion… and three first-level minerals…'

  She gazed at the nine materials before her with trembling excitement. This was the culmination of two years of relentless effort. She couldn't help but take a deep breath.

  "Today—I, Qing Xuanling—will finally begin my path to greatness!"

  Without further delay, she activated her divine talent: Nine Heavens Incarnations.

  The activation came instinctively—she merely willed it. Immediately, the nine materials began to glow and levitate into the air.

  The five spiritual herbs and three minerals revolved around the spiritual clay, generating a gust of wind that tousled Qing Xuanling's carefully combed hair.

  She watched the spectacle with rising excitement—until suddenly, a sharp pain lanced through her soul. Tears welled in her eyes as a tenth of her primordial spirit was forcibly severed.

  That fragment of primordial spirit flew toward the spiritual clay—which abruptly began absorbing the five spiritual herbs and three minerals!

  Qing Xuanling clutched her chest as certain information flooded her mind:

  [First incarnation created… Synchronizing with the Celestial Dao… Affinity with a Great Dao established…]

  [First incarnation:

  Mixed spiritual root: Fire (84%), Wood (68%), Metal (61%), Earth (57%)

  Special physique: None

  Divine talent: Alchemy-Blessed Fanatic]

  A faint smile touched Qing Xuanling's lips—just before she lost consciousness.